Seton Hall baseball drops pitching duel to FIU, 1-0

It was David Festa who got the start for the Pirates, and pitched for more than half the game going five innings and shutting out the FIU Panthers while he was on the mound. Festa allowed only one hit and three walks as he threw 82 pitches, striking out eight on the day.

There were two other pitchers who saw action for the Hall, as Hunter Waldis pitched in the eighth, as he only need to throw 10 pitches to force three ground outs. The other pitcher who came in for Seton Hall was Blake Espinal, who pitched from the sixth and the seventh, giving up three hits and allowing the only runner to score when the Panthers outfielder Adan Fernandez homered to center in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Pirates struggled heavily to get anything going inside of the batting box as they only recorded two hits on the day due to FIU pitcher Logan Allen striking out 11 in the seven innings he pitched. The first hit came in the top of the third when Connor Hood singled through the right side. The second and final hit for the Pirates came in the ninth when the junior Christian Del Castillo tried to start the rally with a single. It would not lead to a win as Seton Hall fell to the Florida International Panthers 1-0.

The Hall still has a chance to win this series as they face off again against the Panthers, first in a night game Saturday at 6 pm, and then closing off the series Sunday at noon. After that Seton Hall will stay in Florida for the Snow Bird Classic taking place next week.